Improved abdominal supporter



viren mans Arnsrr IMPROVED ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER.

Sgecilicaiion forming part ol Letters Patent No. @6.539, (lated February 2, 1309.

To LH whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, Mrs. E. J. HARDING, of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Abdominal Supporters and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and clear description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. I

This invention relates to an improvement on an. apparatus formerly patented by myself for the same purpose.

This invention, like the former one, has for its object the support of the lower abdomen of weakly females, or of those approaching maternity, and is designed as well to cure prolapsus diiticulties as to prevent puerperal disorders. The apparatus itself consists of an anterior and a posterior pad, (not altogether unlike those of my former inventiom) coupling and supporting bands, and shoulderstraps, and also an elastic front piece, so as to allow the supporter to be worn by ladies of corpulent or rotund abdomen without seriously incommoding or annoying` them.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my improved abdominal supporter, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure l of the drawings is a front eleva tion of one of the improved supporters as it would appear when On the person of a wearer. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the supporter, taken separately.

The anterior pad, A, is Of such curvature and formation as to coliform to the shape of the lower abdomen, which it is designed to envelop and support. The posterior pad, B, is elongated in a vertical direction more than was the similar pad Ot' my former invention, the object being to allow the upper end of the said pad B to extend above the top horizontal line of the anterior pad, say, two inches, more or less, and thereby greatly stiften and support the spinal column in the region of the kidneys. This construction of the posterior pad is best seen in Fig. 2, where the part b above the line x g/ is clearly represented to be such as to support the spinal column in the manner above described. The two pads are held in their proper positions on the wearer by means of the side straps, C, and by. the inferior straps c, passing below the hips, and the superior straps c', passing around the outside of the hips. I

In the present supporter I also use Shoulder-straps or Suspenders D, attached to the top ends of the two pads, and passing thence over the Shoulders ofthe wearer. Small elastie bands d should be inserted in these suspender-straps, to allow them to yield readily with the motions of the wearer.

In the front of the anterior pad I insert an elastic webbing, E, for the purpose of more fully and completely tt-ing the supporter to the form of the wearer. This feature of the invention is especially beneiicial in the case of ladies having a rotund or full abdomen. The pad A is V-shaped in form, so as to nicely fit the exterior surface of the pelvic viscera, and it is stiffened by means of two inlaid plates, a, of copper or zinc, so as to exert a gentle but steady pressure on the Os pubis, and this will readily prevent or cure cases of prolapsus uteri. The general form ofthe pad B will bev such as to readily iit it to the form at the base of the spinal column. A similar metallic plate, b, should also be inserted inthe pad B.

The two pads A and B should be made of some pliant textile fabric, and the various loops and straps attached to the pads by means of buttons, buckles, or other equivalent devices.

In inserting the elast-ic webbing in the front of the padA, it may extend from the top tothe bottom of the said pad, or only part way down to the bottom, as may be best suited to the form of the wearer.

Having described my invention wh at I claim i l. The anterior pad, A, when constructed in the V-shaped form herein described, and provided with the stiffening-plates a andthe elastic center webbing, E, substantially in the manner herein described and set forth.

2. Theposterior pad, B, when provided with a spinal support, b, as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

3. The combination and arrangement of the pads A B, the side straps, C, bracingst-raps c c, and suspenderstraps D.

MRS. E. J. HARDING.

Witnesses:

GEO. l?. HERTHEL, Jr., M. RANDOLPH. 

